


The Bitter Undertone

by beekeepercain



Series: In Fewer Words [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Brothers, Coffee, Gen, Sibling Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-05
Updated: 2013-02-05
Packaged: 2017-11-28 07:06:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/671649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beekeepercain/pseuds/beekeepercain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ordinary moments sometimes call back hauntings from the past, the sort that no salt can repel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Bitter Undertone

**Author's Note:**

> Part of the Barcelona Diary, a pile of short SPN fics I wrote while travelling.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Sam suppressed a stubborn yawn and drank a mouthful of his takeaway coffee. He leaned back in his seat, watching the townspeople going about their daily businesses around the shiny black Impala that was the closest thing Sam had to a home.

Dean was taking his time buying the necessities for the long drive they were once again facing in front of them, and while Sam usually didn't mind - he was used to waiting, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with waiting with a cup of fresh coffee - the manner he ached today made him wish they'd already be on their way. Watching normal people do normal things was opening a grave inside his subconscious that he didn't want to disturb. That particular grave was all but immune to all salt and fire he had tried to purify it with, and no matter how much purpose he could find in his life as it was, the ghost of his deepest wish to live an entirely different fate could always do away with his determination and sense of reality.  
If today he would have simply walked out of the car while Dean was still shopping, leaving behind all he had aside a credit card he could use just once more to get out and nothing more, he would still find himself unsatisfied. That wish had long since stopped being relevant, yet it lingered like a haunting in him, merely waiting for a weak moment upon which it could push through to torture his conscious mind again.

He was no homeowner, not an ordinary worker, nor was he a husband. He was a hunter, nothing more and nothing less, a broken man with half a cause and even less faith in what he did. But, he thought with a faint smile as he saw Dean's form pushing open the grocery shop's door, he did have a soul to share this life with. He had a brother who not only needed him but also loved him and wanted him by his side. Given a choice, as he was each and every day, he would stay, he would always stay until the bitter end. He had made that choice once and even though it hadn't been the choice he'd wanted, it was one he'd made for a reason.

As Dean opened the door and placed their wares on the backseat before settling on his favourite spot behind the wheel, the temptation to go had already died inside Sam. In a way, he was looking forward to their next case.

"The whole town was stacking up for the holidays, man. I swear I've never seen a queue that long before," Dean growled as he turned the key, sending the engine purring.

Sam chuckled absently. The taste of his coffee had changed since the last sip. The bitter undertone was gone.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~


End file.
